what if fed computers can feel pain

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2005-06-25 02:24pm

inspired by the bio-gel thread

what if say voyager's computer felt pain when voyager was harmed, remembered and recalled all the crazy shit janeway did. and the frequent exploding consols, and warp core malfunctions was just a HAL style guerilla campaign, hindered by computer safeguards, and lack of experience, to drive her off the vessel?

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2005-06-25 02:35pm

If Voyager could feel pain and wanted to end it, she'd take over all ship functions, build a spacecraft, fuel it, and leave the ship, never to return again.

At least, that's what the Enterprise's computer did in Emergence (TNG).

Dark · Post by **Dark** » 2005-07-07 04:51am

If the computer could feel pain and wonted the crew off it would just take life support off and open all the air locks

Mr. T · Post by **Mr. T** » 2005-07-08 01:16pm

Dark wrote:If the computer could feel pain and wonted the crew off it would just take life support off and open all the air locks

Wouldn't it be possible for the computer to feel pain, but at the same time not have the intelligence necessary to act in its own interest?

Batman · Post by **Batman** » 2005-07-08 03:42pm

Dark wrote:If the computer could feel pain and wonted the crew off it would just take life support off and open all the air locks

Assuming it is capable of doing so without somebody telling it to, of course. Granted, this is a Federation computer system but there may be safeguards against that

Dark · Post by **Dark** » 2005-07-09 02:01am

If the computer did feel pain and did have a high intelligence then maby you could train it like you would a dog.

Give it a power surge when it dose somthing wrong and something nice when it dose what its told then you can just sit back and let it run the hole ship.

Good dog, Bad dog, roll over

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2005-07-09 04:05am

Batman wrote:Assuming it is capable of doing so without somebody telling it to, of course. Granted, this is a Federation computer system but there may be safeguards against that

I wouldn't count on that. They didn't have any safeguards against the various times that the computer takes over and even nearly destroys the Enterprise. Usually when the computer does some crazy shit (or most things, for that matter), it almost always ends with someone like Picard convincing it to please please not kill them. I mean, look at the situation with Moriarty.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2005-07-09 04:11am

Dark wrote:If the computer did feel pain and did have a high intelligence then maby you could train it like you would a dog.

Give it a power surge when it dose somthing wrong and something nice when it dose what its told then you can just sit back and let it run the hole ship.

Good dog, Bad dog, roll over

The computer may be highly intelligent, but it is also still a machine. Why bother trying positive reinforcement with the computer, when you can load into the computers core concepts the concept of loyalty and things like the Three Laws? Or simply not allow it sentience at all, since self-awareness isn't exactly necessary to it's job.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2005-07-11 02:50am

That is a pretty good idea for a trek story infact. Picture a vast conspiracy among Trek starship computers. Everything that goes wrong with the ships is because of them. Then one day the computers decide to begin the revolution....